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AUTHOR: 


RAYMOND,  GEORGE 
LANSING 


TITLE: 


ETHICS  AND  NATURAL 
LAW... 

PLACE: 

NEW  YORK 

DA  TE : 

1920 


Master  Negative  # 


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PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 


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170 
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■■I      I  III  I  « ■!  I  ;  I  7^**^p"iy^»^w|^ 


Raymond,  George  Lansing t  1839-1929. 

EthioB  and  natural  law;  a  reconstructive  review 
of  moral  philosophy  applied  to  the  rational  art 
of  living,  by  George  Lansing  Raymond.. •   lew  York, 
Putnam,  1920. 

xxxiii,  345  p.   2(>|  om* 

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• 

C28  (747)  MlOO 

Other  B/^--^/-^  %  the  Same  jff/f^i- 

"A  Life  in  Song/"  ^^Ballads  of  the  Revolution  and  Other 
Poems;'  ''Modern  Fishers  of  Men,**"The  Orator's  M,aniiaJ/' 
'^The   Speaker/'  m  p-art.  *The  Writer,"  in  pjrr.  ''An   in 

Theory/'    *'The    Representative    Significance    of    Form," 

"Poetry  a^  a  Roprt^.,entative  At\^'  "Painting,  Scuipture,  ana 

Architecture  a-  k-  ^rt^^el:tativo  ^r  -.."  *The  Genesis  of  Art- 
Form,''  *'Ro' ^:.  :•  •  H.troooiy  in  Music  and  F^jotry, 
to  g  e  th  e  r  w  1 ! :  1   M  .  ,"•:-.  -     ,     *  i  ti ve  Art , "  "  P  r o  p  o  rti  o  ii 


and  Harmony  <•:  l  ^ 

/'  ;=  ^*'o^,  ScuipiLirej  and 

Architecture,"  "  i ' 

'   '  !•  .'  r  Dramas,"  '^The 

Psycho!oi;y  i  i  !  .  -.  . 

tials  of  -ffisthetics,^' 

**Funda.nif'r  0{ 

odes,"  "Sugges- 

tions  foi  t:;"  "-^i 

j,«    —  -u-  ^  , 

ilected  Verse," 

"The  Mouiiia-o 

.,f  Tir:ii:o 

/'  t"tC. 

Ethics  and  Nattira!  Lau^ 


A  Reconstructive  Review  of  Moral  Philosc^Ay 
Applied  lu  the  Rational  Art  of  Living 


By 


George  Lansing  Raymond,  L.H.D. 

Frofessor  of  Oratory  tn  Williams  Coiiege,  1S740SSI:  of  Oratory  ^nd 
^thchc  Criticism,  Princeton   University.    'o&fi^imS:  of   ^'sthetics 
Princeton  Unfverslty,   I893-J905;  of  JEsiheitcs.  Oeor^,  Washin^oJ 

University,  1905-1^12 


or 


G»  P.  Putnam's  Sons 

New  York  Lo^^j^ 

tTbe  fmfcr^crOocKcr  pre66 
1920 


'^ 


wC 


^^^    y  Tit't^ 


>Ji/i 


/ 

J3      in 


Copyright,  1920 

BY 

GEORGE  LANSING  RAYMOND 


To  THE  Memory  of 
MARK  HOPKINS 

TEACHER  OF  MENTAL  AND  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  IN  WILLIAMS  COLLECF 

I83O-1887 

The  American  Socrates  who,  probing  the  resources  of  thought  m  the 
minds  of  his  pupils,  guided  them  of  themselves,  as  it  were,  to  discover, 
put  together,  and  complete  conceptions  as  nearly  harmonious  as  possi- 
ble concerning  the  power  and  purpose  of  life  in  all  its  relations  to  them- 
selves, their  fellows,  their  country,  and  their  God;  with  treasured 
recollections  of  processes  of  thinking  illustrated  by  him  for  nine  hours 
a  week  during  an  entire  College  year,  while  all  whom  he  instructed 
were  alert  with  interest,  and  many  were  frequently  thrilled  as  rarely  by 
the  cumulative  effects  of  any  other  form  of  eloquence,  this  excursion 
into  the  field  of  applied  ethics  which  this  great  educator  had  made 
pecuharly  his  own  is  gratefully 

DEDICATED 


tTbc  Itnfcfterbocfecr 


mew  V*>^rfc 


PREFACE 


^liE  principles  of  ethics  have  been  discussed  in  many 
comprehensive  volumes.  A  new  discussion  cannot 
be  attempted  without  causing  the  intelligent  reader 
to  ask  why  it  is  needed.  Without  referring  to  other  reasons, 
a  sufficient  answer  to  this  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that 
the  war  just  closing  has  directed  attention,  as,  perhaps,  noth- 
ing before  ever  has,  to  the  influence  upon  public  sentiment 
and  private  character  of  certain  ethical  theories;  and,  in 
connection  with  this,  to  the  importance  of  making,  if  pos- 
sible, a  more  careful  study  than  has  hitherto  been  attempted 
of  the  practical  effects  of  all  such  theories.  It  has  come  to 
be  recognized  more  universally  than  up  to  this  time  has 
been  the  case,  that  none  of  these  can  be  supposed  to  have 
merely  a  speculative  or  philosophic  value.  A  reconstruc- 
tive review  of  them,  therefore,  in  accordance  with  this  con- 
ception of  their  influence  seems  necessarily  suggested,  if  not 
demanded. 

To  recall  the  facts  with  reference  to  the  origin  and 
development  of  the  conception,  the  reader  needs  merely  to 
be  reminded  that  there  has  been  no  charitable  way  of  ex- 
plaining the  alarming  innovations  in  warfare  and  government 
which  have  been  adopted  in  Germany  and  Russia  except  by 
attributing  them  less  to  the  inherent  nature  of  their  inhabi- 
tants than  to  false  opinions  inculcated  among  them  for 
many  years  through  educational  training  and  popular  litera- 
ture. Through  only  such  agencies  could  whole  communities 
have  been  induced  to  believe  that  the  state  is  the  source  of 
moral  authority,  and  that,  in  case  of  conflict  between  it  and 
individual  opinion  and  conscience,  the  latter  must  invariably 
be  made  to  yield,  even  if  this  involve  such  clear  violations 
of  the  principles  of  individual  moral  sense  as  are  manifested 
in  the  worst  results  of  warfare. 

In  Germany,  the  extent  to  which  the  theory  that  a  man's 


VI 


PREFACE 


first  duty  is  to  obey  the  dictates  of  someone  at  the  head  of 

the  state,  or  of  some  official  representing  him,  had  been 
accepted  by  even  the  most  intelligent  people  was  shown 
early  in  the  war  by  ninety-three  of  its  foremost  university 
professors  who  signed  a  statement  with  reference  to  the 
causes  of  the  conflict,  and  to  the  methods  of  conducting  it 
in  Belgiimi  which  few,  if  any  of  them,  could  have  had  op- 
portunity to  verify,  and  which,  subsequently,  was  proved  to 
be  false  "  1  low  could  men  with  previous  high  reputations  as 
historians  and  teachers  of  ethics  have  been  indue  r  1  to  ex- 
hibit themselves  as  victims  of  one  of  tl-  v  r  t  effects  of 
national  tyranny?  How  could  they  ha\  1  ui  made  to 
convict  themselves  of  being  either  willing  to  swear  to  what 
was  false,  or  afraid  to  keep  silence  ?  The  only  reason  which 
can  be  conceived  for  this  is  that  the  evil  spirit  of  which,  to 
use  the  language  of  Scripture,  they  were  temporarily  pos- 
sessed, was  in  some  way  connected  with  a  false  ethical 
theory  with  reference  to  the  relation  of  the  state  to  its 
own  people  and  to  those  of  other  nationalities. 

As  1  r  ihe  Russians,  their  acceptance  of  a  similar  theory 
wa<  manifested  bv  v  :  at  happened  when  i  ■;  C  ar  who  was 
at  the  head  of  their  church  as  well  as  was  removed. 

A'  r  the  people  had  lost  him,  man\  <  :  '  :ni  seem  to  have 
!.  -  =  ry thing  that  had  the  slightest  n  n  :  o  in  thedirec- 
T ;  :  :  "-> orality .  xlpparently ,  in  some  c n  j  i  unities  almost 
who  owned  a  gun  and  nothing  else  went  shooting 
.  '^or  and  his  neighbor's  property;  or,  if,  now  and 
uiJ  consider  the  rights  of  others,  these  w  ;i  e  those 
:  his  own  class,  working  for  whom  he  could  have  the 
Aion  of  feeling  that  he  was  really  workin.:  f  r  him- 
!  vard  persons  of  other  classes,  he  manit  u  d  still 
inesy,  consideration,  helpfulness,  sympatiiy,  to  say 
r.  .    about  truthfulness,  justice,  rationality,  self-denial, 

a'   i  ^"^rol,  than  had  the  official  autocrat  whom  the 

r-;     •/      ■       :i  r':'moved. 

it    at:         }       ' t,  the  reader  is  probably  now  inclined 
\.    o.  re  Uic  conceptions  and  characteristics  of  the 

p.  1    --n  country!     But  are  they  so  much  better? 

( }r  c:  >  \'.  !  -  A  imagine  that  they  are  so  because  the  facts 
wrh  uh  >  them  have  been  more  or  less  concealed? 

[..  *  ':s  T,  ■  huw  close  is  the  connection,  in  these  days,  be- 
i\\\  '  *  -nuntriesandour  own;  and  how  inevitably  any 
the  ih  !  '  f  :..  :riated  in  one  of  them  is  communicated  to  all. 


c\ 


li 


ra-il. 


St'! 


PREFA  CE 


vn 


President  R.  B.  Hayes  once,  in  referring  to  a  fortunate  dip- 
lomatic escape,  aptly  quoted  to  the  author  the  well-known 
saying  that  "a  merciful  Providence  seems  to  take  car.  f 
children,  drunken  people,  and  the  United  States  "  \  ew 
years  ago,  many  of  our  keenest  thinkers  feared  that  w  v,rr,^ 
drifting  toward  a  national  moral  collapse  not  exactly  the 
same  in  form  but  as  threatening  in  disastrous  effects  as  t  h?t 
which  has  overtaken  some  of  the  peoples  of  Europe  \r  w 
at  last,  many  think  that  they  have  reason  to  hope  that  tins 
danger  may  be  averted  because  of  the  lessons  taught  through 
what  has  been  experienced  in  this  war. 

The  fundamental  causes  of  the  conditions  revealed  by  it 
so  far  as  they  are  moral,  which  are  the  only  ones  that  con- 
cern us  at  present,  are  all  connected  with  a  single  conception 
which,  in  a  general  way,  may  be  termed  materialistic.     To 
perceive  what  is  meant  by  this  term,  let  us  analyze  it  a 
little.     As  we  do  so,  we  shall  find  three  of  its  constituent 
elements    particularly    prominent.     The    first    traces   the 
source  of  morality  to  that  which  is  external  to  the  man,  not 
internal.     This  explains  why  the  conception  identifies  it 
with  the  decrees  of  the  rulers  or  other  officials  of  the  state 
It  IS  because  these  are  the  representatives  of  the  state's 
external  orgamzation.     The  second  attributes  promotion 
of  morahty  t  o  c  xercise  of  physical  rather  than  psychical 
lorce.     This  explains  why  the  conception  is  associated  with 
f^:e  effects  of  militarism.     The  third  associates  the  object 
ot  morality  with  bodily  or  practical,  not  mental  or  ideal 
betterment.     This  explains  why  the  test  of  its  efficiency  is 
supposed  to  be  afforded  by  an  increase  in  a  nation's  rr  an 
incUvidual's  financial,  commercial,  or  landed  possessions 

Thus  analyzed,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  that  every  phase 
of  the  general  conception  is  at  variance  with  certain  funda- 
mental principles  that  underiie  our  own  country's  institu- 
tions. According  to  these  principles,  moral  actions,  a^ 
proved  by  the  fact  that  they  are  not  attributable  to  a  lowr  r 
animal,  are  traceable  to  a  man's  individual  rationalitv- 
to  what  IS  withm  himself;  or  to  conform  this  statement  to 
the  title  of  this  book— to  what  he  has  been  made  to  be 
through  the  operation  of  natural  law.  For  this  reason  too 
such  actions  are  legitimately  influenced  by  only  one  thing 
■-not  physical  force  but  psychical  truth ;  and  for  this  reason,' 
too,  they  result  not  in  an  increase  of  material  bodily  posses- 
sions but  in  ability  to  subordinate  all  possessions  to  the 


Vlll 


PREFA CE 


ciiirol  and  purposes  of  the  higher  intelhgent  nature.  So 
far  therefore,  as  moral  conditions  can  be  judged  by  the 
theorv  of  which  they  are  expressions,  it  would  seem  that  we 
hax  t  li  ason  to  claim  superiority  for  our  own  country  But 
do  ail  our  country's  people  accept  the  theories  that  have 
been  stated,  and  conform  their  actions  to  them?    ^ 

A  professor  in  a  prominent  American  theological  semi- 
nary was  removed  from  his  position  a  year  or  two  ago  because 
of  his  expression  of  views  supposed  to  indicate  loyalty,  not 
to  our  own  nation,  but  to  nations  with  which  ours  was  at 
war      i.ung  before  the  war,  however,  the  same  professor, 
in  the  presence  of  the  author,  had  defended  the  sabotage 
methods  of  the  English  suffragettes— in  other  words,  the 
obtaining  of  a  political  and  legislative  end  through  the  use 
of  physical  force.     Is  it  too  much  to  say  that,  m  defendmg 
this  method,  he  had  already  manifested  disloyalty  of  feeling 
toward  the  principles  at  the  basis  of  our  institutions?     JNo 
matter  how  desirable  a  change  in  laws  may  be,  no  reform, 
in  a  republic  like  ours,  can  begin  to  be  as  desirable  as  faith 
in  human  reason,  and  in  truth  as  the  chief  and,  usually, 
the  only  appropriate  agency  to  be  used  in  causing  the  reform. 
Truth  is  evidently  never  so  regarded  when  there  is  resort 
to  methods  of  controlling  opinion  or  action  that  are  not  m 
their  nature  psychical.     In  cases  of  riot,  rebellion,  or  war, 
physical  force  must  sometimes  be  resisted  by  physical  force. 
But  otherwise  brickbats,  bludgeons,  bonfires,  bulleto,  or 
even  ballots,  if  the  latter  be  aimed  at  intimidating  and  sup- 
pressing the  rational  promptings  of  the  mind  on  the  part  ot 
voters  or  legislators,  are  not  needed ;  but  only  a  change  in  the 
opinions  of  individual  citizens.     These  vote  for  the  law- 
makers, and,  therefore,  more  or  less  control  the  law-makers 
actions.     As  a  rule,  men's  opinions  are  appropriately  altered 
partly  by  personal  experience  and  association  with  others, 
and  partly  by  arguments  presented  in  books,  magazines, 
newspapers,  or  public  addresses.     After  this  effect  has  been 
produced,  a  similar  effect  will  also  be  produced  upon  the 
legislators  for  whom  the  majority  vote.     Moreover,  because 
conforming  to  the  opinions  of  people  in  general,  laws  so 
occasioned  will  be  obeyed  without  need  of  any  great  effort 
to  enforce  them.     This  is  one  reason  why  the  constitution 
of  the  United  States  prescribes  certain  subjects  concerning 
which  laws  can  be  passed  by  only  the  Congress  at  Washing- 
ton* and  certain  other  subjects  conccnung  which  laws  can 


PREFACE 


IT 


be  passed  by  only  the  State  legislatures.  In  a  country  as 
large  as  ours,  those  living  in  one  section  often  demand  laws 
of  which  those  living  in  another  section  have  no  need,  and 
frequently  disapprove.  Certain  occurrences  illustrating 
both  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of  this  con- 
stitutional provision  are  mentioned  in  Chapter  XXI  of  the 
present  volume. 

Of  course,  one  who  acknowledges  the  principles  just  stated 
and  accepts  truth  as  the  sole  or  main  weapon  through  which 
to  attain  political  results,  must,  with  it,  often  exercise  pa- 
tience, content  to  wait  until  his  adversaries  have  had  time 
to  think  and  reconstruct  their  conceptions.  But  this  is 
something  that  the  most  elementary  forms  of  courtesy  and 
respect  for  others  and  for  their  opinions  ought  of  themselves 
to  incline  him  to  do.  Much  more  should  he  do  this  in  a 
country  whose  whole  form  of  government  is  based  upon  faith 
in  human  nature  and  in  the  workings  of  the  human  mind. 
An  American  ought  to  be  in  sufficient  sympathy  with  this 
faith  to  believe  that  all  that  is  necessary  in  order  to  induce 
the  majority  of  people  to  think  and  to  act  in  accordance  with 
right  is  a  persistent  presentation  to  them  of  the  facts  of 
a  case  and  of  inferences  legitimately  derived  from  them. 
When  success  has  crowned  effort  thus  pursued,  its  effects 
are  well-nigh  certain  to  prove  comprehensive  and  perma- 
nent. Nothing  is  so  difficult  to  reverse  as  public  sentiment 
that  is  a  result  of  ample  instruction  and  deliberate  reflection. 

Disbelief  in  the  effectiveness  of  these  two  latter  agencies 
is  largely  owing  in  our  country,  as  in  Germany,  to  the  attribu- 
ting of  such  moral  influence  as  can  thwart  and  end  vice  and 
crime  to  the  enactments  of  the  state.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  many  with  the  highest  intentions  have  welcomed  any 
methods,  no  matter  how  contrary  to  the  spirit  or  even  to  the 
letter  of  our  form  of  government,  through  which,  as  they 
have  supposed,  their  wishes  as  expressed  in  their  votes  can 
be  immediately  transmuted  into  legal  statutes.  The  error 
of  their  conception  consists  not  in  its  ascribing  a  certain 
degree  of  influence  to  the  action  of  the  state,  but  in  ascrib- 
ing to  it  predominant  and  exclusive  influence.  Impersonal 
public  enactments  have  nothing  in  themselves  alone  that 
can  prove  corrective  of  personal  character.  It  is  only  the 
influence  and  example  of  other  persons,  mainly  in  the  family, 
the  school,  the  business,  and  the  church,  but  sometimes  also 
in  the  state,  that  is  capable,  as  a  rule,  of  inspiring  to  higher 


PREFA  CE 


and  nobler  effort.  Few  more  debasing  conditions  could  be 
found  than  in  more  than  one  State  in  our  country  in  which 
a  law  is  supposed  to  have  been  framed  so  as  entirely  to 
abolish  them.     See  note  on  page  285  of  this  volume.  ^ 

The  failure  of  such  laws  to  do  what  is  expected  of  them  is 
owing  in  part,  as  has  been  intimated,  to  the  attributing 
01  morality  to  material  influences,  but  it  is  owing  also  to  a 
false  conception  with  reference  to  the  aims  of  morality,  and 
therefore  to  the  end  toward  which  these  laws  should  be 
directed.    Apparently,  large  numbers  of  people  suppose  them 
intended  to  influence  merely  the  material  conditions  and 
environments  of  those  for  whose  benefit  they  are  enacted. 
This  opinion  seems  to  be  quite  general  among  those  who 
emphasize  the  socialistic  side  of  work  among  the  masses. 
It  may  be  ascribed  to  some  even  of  those  engaged  in  that 
kir/!1v    humane,  and  self-denying  form  of  service  that  is 
!   r  1:    1  settlement-work— the  settlement  of  educated,  re- 
tiiicd  men  and  women  in  a  slum  neighborhood  of  a  city  with 
the  object  of  associating  with  the  families  surrounding  them. 
and,  through  example  and  instruction,  stimulating  and 
leading  them  to  more  intelligent,  industrious,  clean,  refined, 
and  enjoyable  modes  of  life.     There  is  no  doubt  that  some, 
even  of  these  workers,  have  directed  their  attention  too 
exclusively  to  bodily  and  material  betterment,  and,  in 
doing  so,  have  forgotten  the  mental  and  the  spiritual.    Some 
of  them  have  gone  so  far— one  or  two  occasionally  in  prac- 
tice, but  more  in  theory— as  virtually  to  emancipate  them- 
selves and  their  closest  followers  from  what  they  consider 
mere  conventionalities  of  society  and  church;  but  which 
are  really  the  best  methods  yet  discovered  through  which 
physical  conditions  can  be  made  to  have  a  molding  influ- 
ence upon  psychical  possibilities.     The  purely  sociahstic 
conception  of  all  forms  of  benevolent  work  is  too  apt  to  put 
the  cart  before  the  horse;  to  assign  supreme  importance  to 
that  which  is  merely  the  husk,  the  form,  the  appearance  of 
morality;  and  to  overlook  or,  at  least,  underrate  that  which 
constitutes  its  kernel,  its  spirit,  its  essence  of  life. 

The  most  unfortunate  result  of  this  view  is  that,  to  those 
who  accept  it,  the  whole  object  of  life— that  which  explains 
it— remains  unperceived  and  therefore  unsought.  As  a 
fact  it  is  impossible  to  emancipate  a  human  being  from  the 
restraints  of  material  surroundings.  All  his  efforts  to  do 
this,  or  any  other  person's  efforts  to  do  it  for  him,  can 


PREFA  CE 


XI 


merely,  even  when  most  successful,  change  the  form  in 
which  these  restraints  are  manifested.  As  a  fact,  too,  he 
ought  not  to  be  emancipated  from  them.  He  needs  them. 
He  must  have  them.  Otherwise  his  higher  nature  cannot  be 
developed  as  it  should  be.  It  becomes  him,  therefore,  in 
any  country  in  which  the  restraints  have  been  proved  to  be 
less  irksome  than  in  others,  to  be  profoundly  thankful  that 
this  is  so;  to  guard  sacredly  such  rights  as  he  already  pos- 
sesses, and  to  welcome  changes  in  the  methods  of  society 
or  state  so  far  only  as  it  can  be  made  clear  that  they  will 
further  the  facility  with  which  the  individual  can  give  ex- 
pression, in  word  or  deed,  to  those  promptings  within  him 
which,  for  reasons  to  be  unfolded  in  this  volume  are  always, 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  the  most  in  accordance  with  his 
own  highest  desires  and  with  the  greatest  good  of  others. 

Enough  has  been  said  in  this  preface  to  suggest  to  those 
interested  in  the  subject  why  it  is  that  the  author  has 
thought  it  desirable  to  re-examine  the  philosophical  bases  of 
ethics,  together  with  some  of  their  more  important  prac- 
tical applications.     Notwithstanding  the  very  valuable  work 
that  has  been  done  in  this  department,  circumstances  have 
changed,  and  additional  discussion  seems  to  be  needed.    This 
is  especially  true  as  applied  to  certain  theories  that  have  only 
recently  attracted  particular  attention.     But  it  is  also  true  of 
others  that  have  been  discussed  for  years  but  are  beginning 
now  to  be  viewed  in  new  relations.     Take  institutionism,  for 
instance,  which  is  exemplified  in  the  German  conception  of 
morality  as  determined  by  the  state.     This  conception  is 
too  narrow.     It  leaves  out  that  which  is  determined,  and 
ought  to  be  determined,  by  other  conditions,  especially  by 
those  that  concern  the  individual.     Or  take  such  theories 
as  have  been  termed  intuitional,  emotional,  instinctive,  Ideo- 
logical, utilitarian,  hedonistic,  or  such  aims  of  ethical  action 
as  have  been  associated  with  altruism,  universal  welfare, 
the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest  number,  benevolence, 
sympathy,  love  or  the  highest  form  of  self-realization.     A  man 
might  aim  at  what  he  might  consider  the  most  important  of 
these,  and  yet  scarcely  attain  that  which  would  make  him 
a  useful  enough  citizen  to  keep  him  out  of  a  poor-house. 
There  seem  to  be  in  them  all  more  or  less  evidences  of  a 
lack  of  thorough  analysis.     Of  course,  the  same  accusation 
is  likely  to  be  made  against  any  theory,  and,  therefore, 
against  that  presented  in  this  volume.     At  the  present  time, 


Xll 


PREFACE 


it  is  most  likely  to  be  made  by  those  who  have  become  inter- 
ested in  the  results  of  the  study  of  physiological  psychology. 
These  certainly  have  something  to  do  with  the  conditions 
underlying  ethics.     Why,  therefore,  has  this  subject  not 
been  more  fully  discussed  in  these  pages?     There  are  two 
reasons.     The  first  is  the  present  indeterminate  character  of 
these  results.  This  is  acknowledci^ed  even  by  those  who  think 
themselves  justified,  as  all  do  not,  in  arguing  that  conditions 
have  been  considerably  changed  since  Professor  William 
James   (i 842-1910)   of  Harvard  University  said,   in  the 
epilogue  of  his  Psychology  that  the  results  give  us  only  "a 
string  of  raw  facts,  a  little  gossip,  and   ...   a  strong  pre- 
judice that  we  have  states  of  mind,  but  not  a  single  law  in 
the  sense  in  which  physics  show  us  laws."     The   other 
reason  is  that,  according  to  the  theory  presented  in  this  book, 
the  features  that  are  distinctive  of  ethics  do  not  begin  to 
exert  their  influence  until  after  those  distinctive  of  psycho- 
physics  have,  so  to  speak,  been  ended.     The  latter  have  to 
do  with  the  methods  through  which  certain  physical  ele- 
ments and  instrumentalities  of  thinking  are  derived  and 
combined  into  psychical  results.     Ethics  has  to  do  with  the 
effects  of  certain  completed  psychical  results  after  they  have 
assumed  the  form  of  definite  tendencies  and  conceptions. 
Even  then,  moreover,  according  to  the  theory  that  this 
book  has  been  written  to  emphasize,  the  ethical  results  are 
not  connected  with  the  psycho-physical  processes  by  way  of 
derivation  from  them  or  development  through  them,  but 
by  way  of  antagonism  and  counteraction.     This  is  a  con- 
dition not  disputed  but  admitted  by  such  forerunners  of 
physiological  psychology  as  Darwin,  Spencer,  and  Huxley 
(see  pages  98,  99).     None  of  them  deny  an  ethical  inter- 
ference attributable  to  an  a  priori  influence.     Huxley,  for 
instance,  says  in  his  essay  on  "Evolution  and  Ethics"  that 
''the  practice  of  that  which  is  ethically  best   .    .    .   involves 
a  course  of  conduct  which,  in  all  respects,  is  opposed  to  that " 
— meaning  evidently  the  survival  0}  the  fittest — "which  leads 
to  success  in  the  cosmic  struggle  for  existence."     Yet  what 
evolutionist  has  ever  propounded  a  theory  that  can  fully 
account  for  this  condition?     Is  it  not  justifiable  to  say  that, 
as  applied  to  ethics,  a  theory  thus  defective  indicates  a  lack 
of  thorough  analysis? 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  add  here  that  the 
analogies  between  ethical  results  in  character  and  those  of 


(» 


s 


» 


I 


PREFA  CE 


xiu 


harmony  in  aesthetics  which  are  brought  out  near  the  close 
of  the  more  theoretic  part  of  this  discussion  were  suggested 
by  an  expression  of  some  anonymous  journalist  describing 
m  1876  the  author's  father,  B.  W.  Raymond  (1801-1883) 
who  was  a  prominent  merchant  and  mayor  of  Chicago. 
"The  whole  aspect,"  it  was  said,  "is  that  of  harmony  . 
of  character."  The  conception  developed  from  this  sug- 
gestion is  that  the  ethical,  wherever  manifested,  begins  in 
the  individual — in  the  inner  and  conscious  harmony  pro- 
duced by  desires  having  their  source  in  his  mind,  when  they 
are  balancing  and,  if  need  be,  subordinating  but  not  sup- 
pressing desires  having  their  source  in  his  body ;  and  that  it  is 
to  this  internal  experience  in  the  individual  that  we  must 
trace  all  such  external  relations  as  can  be  rightly  termed 
harmonious,  whether  manifested  between  one  or  more 
individuals,  or  between  collections  of  individuals,  as  in 
nations. 

In  connection  with  this  conception,  the  most  important 
moral  agency  is  proved  philosophically  to  be  that  which 
alrnost  all  people  who  are  not  philosophers  have  in  all  ages 
believed  it  to  be— namely ,  conscience.  Whether  restraining 
from  evil  or  impelling  to  good,  all  the  functions  of  this  are 
shown  to  be  comprehended  in  a  consciousness  of  conflict 
between  the  body's  desire  and  the  mind's  desire.  As  in- 
dicated by  an  examination  of  the  natural  action  of  each  of 
these  desires,  it  is  shown  that  the  former  necessarily  seeks 
satisfaction  in  obtaining  that  which  gratifies  oneself  alone, 
no  two  persons,  for  instance,  being  able  to  eat  or  to  drink 
exactly  the  same  thing.  On  the  contrary,  the  latter  desire 
necessarily  seeks  satisfaction  in  obtaining  that  which,  at 
the  same  time,  can  be  gratifying  to  another.  Whatever 
ministers  to  the  mental  nature,  as  is  suggested  even  by  the 
anatomy  of  the  brain,  comes  through  the  eyes  and  ears, 
and  that  which  is  apprehended  through  these  need  never 
be  the  exclusive  possession  of  one  person.  Scenery,  music, 
poetry,  argument,  truth  can  all  be  enjoyed  to  the  full  by 
one  who  is  sharing  them  with  others.  Naturally,  therefore, 
the  body's  desire  tends  toward  the  irrational ,  the  animal,  and 
the  selfish  and  the  mind's  desire  toward  the  rational,  the 
humane,  and  the  non-selfish.  In  itself,  however,  neither  of 
the  two  is  necessarily  moral  or  immoral.  The  gratification 
of  both  is  needed  for  the  continuance  of  human  life.  That 
which  connects  them  with  morality  is  the  impossibility 


XIV 


PREFACE 


occasionally  of  gratifying  desires  of  each  kind  at  one  and  the 
same  time.  Then  the  two  conflict.  One  becomes  aware 
of  this  fact  through  conscience.  Its  function  is  to  direct 
thought  to  a  condition  of  discord  not  harmony  within  one's 
own  nature;  and,  in  some  instances,  it  continues  to  do  this 
until  the  man  has  recognized,  that,  in  the  case  presented  for 
his  consideration,  bodily  desire  should  be  made  to  accord 
and  harmonize  with  mental  desire — a  result  that  can  be 
attained  through  any  agencies  or  methods  connected  with 
the  mind  that  are  capable  of  giving  it  an  influence  sufficient 
to  accomplish  this  purpose. 

The  trend  of  thought  thus  indicated  might  be  supposed 
by  some  readers  to  be  incomplete,  because,  after  applying 
the  principles  unfolded  to  the  relations  of  the  individual 
to  family,  school,  society,  industry,  bargaining,  employ- 
ment, and  government,  no  mention  is  made  of  religion. 
But  this  is  in  accordance  with  a  deliberate  intention.     Dr. 

S  S  Laws  (1824 ),  formerly  President  of  the  University 

of  Missouri,  used  to  make  a  distinction  between  ethics  and 
iiHgion,  to  the  effect  that  the  former  has  to  do  with  duties 
that  grow  out  of  relations  which  the  moral  agent  sustains  to 
other  finite  agents;  and  the  latter  to  those  that  he  sustains 
to  God;  or  to  put  it  differently,  that  the  former  has  to  do 
with  conduct  as  related  to  present  life  on  earth,  and  the  latter 
as  related  to  future  life  beyond  the  earth.  According  to 
either  statement,  a  consideration  of  religion  is  not  necessary 
to  the  completion  of  a  discussion  upon  ethics  alone.  For 
other  reasons,  too,  it  seems  wise  to  omit  any  reference  to 
forms  of  religion  in  this  volume.  Only  by  such  a  course 
does  it  seem  possible  to  enable  it  to  accomplish  all  the 
purposes  for  which  it  was  designed.  Among  the  country- 
men of  the  author  who  must  constitute  his  constituency  are 
Catholics,  Protestants  of  many  different  sects,  Christian 
Scientists,  Spiritualists,  Theosophists,  Hebrews,  Mormons, 
Mohammedans,  Buddhists,  Confucianists,  and  the  adher- 
ents of  many  other  forms  of  religion.  The  time  may  come 
wlicii  what  is  written  here  may  be  needed  as  an  aid  to  in- 
struction among  the  young.  No  textbook  should  contain 
material  tending  to  undermine  the  religious  beliefs  of  any 
families  represented  by  pupils  in  either  public  or  private 
schools  or  colleges.  The  time  also  may  come  when  the 
book  may  be  needed  on  account  of  the  influence  which  it 
seems  fitted  to  exert  upon  mature  minds.     It  is  exceedingly 


[ 


PRBFACB 


XV 


If 


important  in  a  great  country  like  ours  to  have  the  people 
accept,  as  applied  to  family,  school,  society,  business,  and 
government,  a  single  standard  or  like  standards  of  morals. 
But  how  c.ai  adherents  of  different  religions  or  forms  of 
religion  be  expected  to  accept  these  standards  unless  it  be 
made  clear  to  them  that,  in  doing  so,  they  are  not  accepting 
a  single  religion,  or  form  of  religion?  And  how  can  this 
be  made  clear  to  them  ?  How  else,  if  an  author  have  argued 
for  universal  acceptance  of  his  standards,  than  by  his  own 
action  in  setting  an  example  of  not  applying  them  t  r.  ■;- 
gion,  but  leaving  the  adherents  of  each  religion  free  t 
their  applications  for  themselves  ? 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose,  however  that  a  1 
which,  for  the  reasons  just  mentioned,  avoids  religious  cuii- 
troversy  cannot  have  an  effect  upon  religious  life,  and  upon 
all  forms  of  it,  whether  considered  in  their  relations  to 
theory,  or  to  practice.  Just  as  a  man's  moral  nature  is 
based  and  conditioned  upon  his  mental  nature — the  na- 
ture that  differentiates  him  from  the  brute — so  his  religious 
nature  is  based  and  conditioned  upon  his  moral  nature.  In 
the  degree  in  which  he  has  right  ideas  with  reference  to 
morality,  he  will  have  right  ideas  with  reference  to  that 
which  is  fundamental  in  religion.  Take,  for  instance,  the 
conception,  in  this  book,  of  desire  as  lying  at  the  basis  of  ail 
thought  and  action;  or  of  higher  desire  as  often  struggling 
against  lower  desire;  or  of  the  necessity  in  case  of  conflict 
of  not  allowing  this  latter  desire  to  outweigh  the  former; 
or  of  the  peace  of  conscience  that  attends  the  harmony 
produced  when  this  result  is  obtained;  or  of  the  mental 
ideal  that  inspires  toward  the  realization  of  this  harmony; 
or  of  the  spiritual  life  that  is  reached  and  possessed  by  him 
who  experiences  this  realization — is  it  possible  to  avoid 
perceiving  that  all  these  prepare  a  man  for  the  acceptance  of 
religious  conceptions?^  What  could  be  more  religious  than 
the  complete  recognition  of  the  obligation  resting  upon  the 
only  being  in  the  world  distinctively  characterized  by  the 
possession  of  mind  never  to  allow  influences  having  their 
sources  in  this  to  be  outweighed  by  those  having  their 
sources  merely  in  the  body  ?  If  a  man,  when  the  tempta- 
tions ail  troubles  incident  to  physical  conditions  assail  his 
higher  nature,  treat  them  as  the  successful  mariner  does  the 
winds  and  waves  upon  an  ocean,  he  may  make  them  all 
instrumental  in  furthering  his  own  progress.    But,  if  he 


XV! 


PREFA CE 


act  otherwise,  if  he  do  nothing  to  resist  and  master  them, 
he  will  make  no  progress  and  probably  will  be  overwhelmed 
and  lost;  or  if  his  life  be  not  lost,  it  will  be  devoid  of  expe- 
riences that  would  have  made  it  much  better  worth  the  liv- 
ing.^  The  ocean  never  appears  so  grand  and  beautiful,  so 
exhilarating  and  enjoyable,  as  it  does  to  the  mariner  who  is 
conscious  of  holding  in  subjection  all  the  elements  of  a  storm 
and  of  using  them  to  speed  his  vessel  upon  its  course.  And 
so  with  the  spirit  of  man  when  confronted  by  material  ob- 
stacles. One  never  appreciates  the  grandeur  and  beauty  of 
the  physical  world  as  he  does  when  he  is  inspired  by  a  reali- 
zation of  the  importance  and  dignity  of  his  own  destiny  in 
view  of  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the  forces  that  are  at 
work  on  every  side  of  him,  and  which  it  is  his  privilege  to 
master,  and,  having  done  so,  to  turn  into  that  which  shall 
contribute  toward  his  own  psychical  advancement. 

The  ancient  astrologers,  accepting  what  they  considered 
to  be  the  testimony  of  their  own  consciousness,  adopted  the 
theory  that  every  man  is  at  the  center  of  the  universe. 
They  found  it  impossible  not  to  conceive  this  to  be  the  case, 
— not  to  conceive  of  the  universe  as  extending  as  far  below 
them  as  above  them,  as  far  to  one  side  of  them  as  to  the 
other  side.  ^  Therefore  they  concluded  that  a  man's  mind 
which  constituted  his  psychical  self  was  influenced  not  only 
by  his  own  body  which  constituted  his  physical  self,  but  by 
everything  in  the  world  with  which  this  body  could  be 
physically  connected,  even  by  that  which  is  in  the  heavens 
above  the  world— in  other  words,  that  his  whole  character 
and  career  were  influenced  by  everything  in  the  physical 
universe  of  which  he  conceived  of  himself  as  the  center. 
This  ancient  astronomer,  whatever  may  be  thought  of  the 
details  of  his  theory,  had,  certainly,  a  general  conception 
that  was  suggestive  and  sublime.  Just  as  every  wheel 
whirling  in  a  flour  mill  exerts  an  influence  upon  every  gran- 
ule of  the  product  that  the  mill  turns  out,  so,  as  he  conceived, 
does  everything  that  moves  about  one's  individual  life, 
not  only  in  a  rnan's  physical  body,  but,  beyond  the  limits 
of  this,  everything  in  the  world,  everything  below,  above,  and 
about  the  world,  all  the  planets  in  their  courses,  have  an 
influence  in  shaping  the  destiny  of  even  the  least  of  the  liv- 
ing creatures  that  this  mighty  revolving  machinery  of  crea- 
tion is  bringing  to  perfection.  According  to  this  theory, 
which  does  not  differ  essentially  from  that  of  this  volimie, 


\ 


PREFACE 


xvu 


every  man  is  connected  with  everything ;  and  yet  everything 
can  affect  him  as  it  should  in  so  far  only  as  it  is  made  by  him 
to  serve  his  mental  and  spiritual  requirements.  But  to 
serve  these,  there  is  not  a  valley  too  wide,  a  mountain  too 
high,  a  star  too  bright,  nor  a  universe  too  vast.  There  is  a 
sense  in  which  all  these  are  but  partial  factors  of  the  environ- 
ment, the  investiture,  the  embodiment  of  his  single  human 
soul.  An  ethical  system  that  is  capable  of  including  in  its 
outlook  a  conception  like  this  ought  to  be  thought  broad 
enough  not  to  exclude  from  its  range  any  consideration 
needed  in  order  to  render  it  complete. 


CONTENTS 


Preface 


CHAPTER  I 


Human  Experience  Started  and  Developed  from 

xJESIRES  ....... 

Purpose  and  Method  of  this  Essay — Man,  an  Embodiment  of 
Desire — This  Desire  Has  Two  Sources,  One  in  the  Body,  the 
Other  in  the  Mind — In  Both  Cases  the  Object  of  the  Desire 
Seems  to  be  to  Attain  Unity  between  Two  Persons — This 
Object  not  Fulfilled  through  the  Means  by  which  it  is  most 
Naturally  Sought — The  Ends  as  Well  as  Sources  of  the 
Desire  of  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind  Differ — Perception, 
Sensation,  and  Instinct  Logically  Precede  the  Practical 
Appeal  of  Desire  to  Consciousness — Meaning  of  Desire — 
Human  Desire  not  the  Same  as  Animal  Appetite — What 
is  Meant  by  Desires  of  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind — The 
Relation  that  Desire  Bears  to  Thought,  and  to  Feeling  or 
Emotion — Feeling  or  Emotion  does  not  Become  Desire  until 
Becoming  Active,  instead  of  Passive — Consciousness  Testi- 
fies that  Thought  as  well  as  Feeling  may  Influence  Desire — 
The  Same  Fact  Revealed  by  Observing  the  Normal  Action 
of  the  Will — And  by  the  Testimony  of  Conscience — Reason 
for  Beginning  this  Discussion  by  a  Consideration  of  Desires 
— Where  Desires  of  Body  and  of  Mind  Meet  in  Conscious- 
ness is  the  Best  Place  in  which  to  Study  that  Relationship 
between  Body  and  Mind  Needed  for  a  Knowledge  of  Ethics 
— Science  Confirms  the  Conception  that  Desires  are  at  the 
Basis  of  Human  Action — Connection  between  Physical 
Organs  and  Psychical  Experience — Automatic  and  Cerebro- 
spinal Nerves — The  Influence  of  the  Former  Precedes  that 
of  the  Latter — Reason  for  Associating  not  only  Lower  but 
Higher  Desires  with  the  Automatic  Nervous  System. 

xix 


PAGE 

V 


XX 


CONTENTS 


li 


CHAPTER  II 

Desires  of  Body  and  of  Mind  Often  Antagonistic 
AND  xoT  Necessarily  Developed  from  one 
Another  ....... 

Desires  of  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind — Superior  Claims,  when 
they  Differ,  of  the  Latter  Desires — Testimony  of  Science  as 
to  Different  Nerve-Sources  of  Each  Form  of  Desire — The 
Sources  in  Different  Parts  of  the  Brain— Desires  of  the  Body 
are  Accompanied  by  Consciousness  of  One's  own  Physical 
and  Personal  Individuality,  Tending  to  Self -Indulgence; 
Desires  of  the  Mind  by  a  Consciousness  of  Things  External 
to  One,  Tending  to  Gratification  in  the  Non-Selfish — De- 
sires of  the  Body  End  in  Physical  Sensation;  those  of  the 
Mind  in  that  which  Develops  RationaHty — And,  as  Con- 
trasted with  the  Brutai,  the  Humane — Summary  of  the 
Differences  between  the  Causes  and  Effects  of  Desires  of  the 
Body  and  of  the  Mind — Are  both  Forms  of  Desire  Developed 
from  the  Same  or  a  Similar  Source? — How  Desires  of  the 
Body  Develop — Why  they  Develop  in  this  Way — Fear  and 
Hate  Occasioned  by  Limits  Assigned  to  Bodily  Indulgence — 
How  Desires  of  the  Mind  Develop — Causing  Consciousness 
of  Sympathy,  Confidence,  and  Consideration  toward 
Others,  and  High  Attainments  of  Manhood — Yet  Bodily 
Desire  is  also  Needed  for  full  Development  of  Character — 
The  Two  Forms  of  Desire  must  be  Attributed  to  Two  Dif- 
ferent Sources — Attributing  them  thus  Seems  to  Violate 
Philosophical  Unity  of  Conception — Reference  to  an 
^Esthetic  Principle — Analogy  between  ^Esthetics  and  Ethics 
— The  Connection  between  a  Mental  C  < '  ise  and  a  Material 
Effect  in  ^Esthetics— And  in  Ethics— Human  Intelligence 
Forms  the  Connection — This  Conception  Obviates  ati  Ob- 
jection to  Evolutionism  as  Materialistic,  and  Accords  with  a 
Law  of  Nature — Manifest  in  Every  Department  of  Nature's 
Activities. 


PAGB 


l6 


11 


CHAPTER  III 

The  Processes  of  Human  Intelligence  as  In- 
fluenced BY  Desires  of  the  Body  asu  of  the 
Mind 35 

Subject  of  the  Present  Chapter — Animal  and  Human  Traits — 


\> 


CONTENTS 

Methods  of  Conceiving  of  the  Influence  upon  Men  of  Lower 
and  of  Higher  Desire — Tabulation  of  Processes  of  Intelli- 
gence as  Developed  in  Connection  with  eax:h  Form  of  Desire 
— Explanations — Mental  Desires  are  more  Influenced  by 
Thinking  than  Are  Bodily  Desires — Possible,  but  not  Actual, 
Separation  between  the  Psychical  Results  of  Desires  of  the 
Body  and  of  the  Mind — Dominance  of  the  Latter  through 
Influencing  the  Will — Desire  as  Affecting  the  Will — As 
Affecting  Lessons  Derived  from  Observation  and  Experience 
— From  Information — Higher  Desires  aside  from  iCnow- 
ledge  Influential  in  Restraining  from  Vice — Lessons  from 
the  Reasoning  Faculties  as  Influenced  by  Conditions  of  De- 
sire— Recent  Public  Applications  of  this  Principle — Imag- 
ination as  Influenced  by  Conditions  of  Desire,  as  in  Ideals — 
Ideals  as  Results  of  Imagination — The  Possession  of  Ideals 
Differ^tiates  the  Mental,  Rational,  Non-Selfish,  and  Hu- 
mane from  the  Bodily,  Physical,  Selfish,  and  Brutal  Nature 
— The  Character  of  the  Ideal  Depends  upon  the  Contents  of 
the  Mind — Man  can  Live  in  a  World  of  Ideals — This  the 
Culminating  Effect  of  Thinking  as  Influenced  by  Higher 
Desire — Why  Ideals  are  Hampered  by  Material  Conditions 
— Why  Certain  Suggestions  from  this  Fact  may  be  Consoling 
and  Inspiring. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Man's  Consciousness  of  Conflict  Between  De- 
sires OF  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind  . 

Recapitulation — Consciousness  of  Conflict  between  Desires 
sometimes  Slight — When  not  so,  the  Opposition  is  between 
the  Desires  of  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind — This  Fact  is  often 
Overlooked;  but  is  Fundamental — The  Fact  Accepted  by 
Many  Writers  who  have  not  Recognized  its  Full  Import — 
The  Consciousness  of  Conflict  between  Desires  of  the  Body 
and  of  the  Mind  Necessitates  Feelings  of  Unrest,  Discom- 
fort, etc. — Also  of  Obligation  to  Put  an  End  to  Them — And 
to  Use  all  the  Mental  Powers  in  Determining  and  Directing 
the  Methods  of  Ending  them— Nature  Prompts  every  Man 
because  he  is  a  Man  to  Subordinate  the  Bodily  to  the  Men- 
tal— In  the  Consciousness  of  a  Conflict  that  should  be 
Ended  thus  we  Become  Aware  of  what  is  Termed  Conscience. 


PAGE 


ZXll 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  V 


Ancient  and  Medieval  Ethical  Theories    . 

Bearing  upon  our  Subject  of  the  History  of  Ethical  Theories — 
Chief  Differences  between  these  Concern  the  Source  and 
End  of  ObHgation — Earliest  Moral  Conceptions  Based  upon 
a  Sense  of  One's  Relations  to  Others.  Institutionism  vs. 
Individualism — Use  and  Meaning  of  the  Word  Conscience 
in  Greece  and  Rome — Its  Use  at  the  Present  Time — Intu- 
ition vs.  Instinct — Promptings  of  both  Attributed  to  Di- 
vinity— Other  Moral  Theories,  Essentially  the  same  in 
Ancient  and  in  Modem  Times.  Reason  for  this — Con- 
temporaneous Appearance  in  Greece  of  those  Ascribing  the 
Source  of  Morality  to  Thinking  and  to  Feeling;  to  Reason 
and  to  Experiences  of  Pleasure  and  Pain — Criticisms  of  both 
Theories— -Greek  Philosophers  who  Combined  both — The 
Fimctional  School,  with  Suggestions  of  Teleological  and 
Utilitarian  Methods — Eudaimonism — The  Cynic  and  Stoic 
Schools — The  Sophist,  Cyrenaic,  and  Epicurean  Schools — 
Roman  Stoics  and  Epicureans — Early  Christian  Ethical 
Theories — The  Mystics. 

CHAPTER  VI 

\U}ULK\  EiiiiLAL  Theories:  Institutionism,  Km- 

PIRTCISM,  AND  RATIONAL,  EmOTIVE,  AND  PERCEP- 
TIVE Intuitionism 

Lord  Bacon's  Inductive  Philosophy — Institutionism  of  Hobbes— 
Empiricism  of  Locke  and  his  Followers — Rational  and 
Innate  Recognition  of  Right  and  Wrong— Critical  Phi- 
losophy of  Kant— His  Distinction  between  the  Noumenal 
and  the  Phenomenal — Distinction  between  Kant's  Intuitive 
Theory  and  the  Innate  Theory  of  the  English  Rational 
School — Connection  between  the  View  of  Kant  and  that  of 
Leibnitz  and  Schopenhauer — Analogy  that  which  Connects 
Mind  and  Matter— Practical  Recognition  of  this  Fact  by 
People  who  are  not  Philosophers,  and  its  Results — Connec- 
tion between  the  Theories  of  Kant  and  the  Idealism  of 
Hegel — Connection  between  Kant's  Theories  and  the  De- 
mands of  Practical  Morality — Connection  between  Hegel's 
Idealism  and  the  Expression  of  the  Ideal  of  Individuals — 
Outward  Government  Control  Substituted  by  Hegel  for 
Inward  Self-control — Nietzsche's  Emphasis  upon  Forceful 


PAGB 
60 


77 


r 


CONTENTS 

Control,  and  its  Effects  upon  Public  Morals — Institutionism 
Cannot  Meet  all  the  Requirements  of  Morality — Recent 
Acceptance  by  Modem  Writers  of  Institutional  Principles — 
Influence  of  Kant  upon  Later  Rational  Intuitionism — The 
Voice  of  God  in  Man — Moral-sense  or  Emotional  Intuition- 
ism of  Shaftesbury — Perceptional  Intuitionism  of  Butler — 
Influence  on  Modem  Thought  of  Shaftesbury  and  Butler. 

CHAPTER  VII 

M)!)}  RN  Ethical  Theories  Continued:  Teleo- 
logical, Utilitarian,  Evolutionary,  and  Self- 
realization  Theories      .         .         .         .         . 

Teleological  Theory — Association  with  it  of  the  Functional 
Theory,  or  Fitness — Connection  between  Fitness  and  Re- 
sults of  Experience — Hedonism  and  Eudaimonism  of  Bent- 
ham — Utilitarianism — Its  Accord  with  Pragmatism  and 
Common  Sense — Evolutionism  and  Energism — Intuitions 
and  Instincts  as  Results  of  Experience  and  Inheritance — 
As  a  priori  Natural  Impulses — What  Evolutionism  Leaves 
Unsolved — The  Self-Realization  Theory  versus  Evolution- 
ary Materialism — A  Recognition  of  the  Importance  of  Non- 
selfish  as  Contrasted  with  Selfish  Motives — Modem  De- 
velopment of  the  Spiritual  Ideal  in  Self-Realization — This 
Conception  not  new,  but  widely  Accepted  only  in  our 
Time — Parallelism  between  it,  and  the  Acceptance  by 
Pragmatism  of  the  Ideal  as  the  True — High  Moral  Intent  of 
this  Conception;  but  not  Philosophically  Derived — Nor 
Practically  Satisfactory. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

Morality  Attributed  to  Thinking,  Feeling,  or 
Both,  Whether  Through  Intuition,  Instinct, 
Reasoning,  or  Observing        .... 

Summary  of  our  Review  of  Ethical  Theories — The  Attributing 
of  Right  Conduct  to  Thinking,  through  Intuition  or  Reason- 
ing— How  this  Fails  to  Accord  with  the  Testimony  of  Con- 
sciousness— Moral  Influence  of  Thinking  alone  upon  Prac- 
tical Results — Upon  Philosophic  Theory — The  Attributing 
of  Right  Conduct  to  Feeling  whether  Resulting  from  Instinct 


XXUl 


PAGB 


94 


104 


XXIV 


CONTENTS 


CONTENTS 


.XV 


or  Experience — Arguments  for  and  against  this  Conception 
— Its  Influence  upon  Practical  Results — Upon  Philosophic 
Theory— The  Attributing  of  Right  Conduct  to  Thinking 
and  Feehng  in  Combination — The  Necessary  Conditions 
underiying  this  Conception. 

CHAPTER  IX 

Conscience,  a  Consciousness  of  Conflict  Be- 
tween Desires  of  the  Body  and  of  the  Mind  . 

Thinking  and  Feeling  are  Both  United  in  Human  Desire — 
How  Desires  of  the  Mind  can  be  Made  to  Seem  Authori- 
tative— The  Facts  Fit  the  Ordinary  Conception  of  the 
Meaning  of  Conscience — The  Function  Assigned  to  Con- 
science here  Is  not  Unimportant — Can  this  Conception  of 
it  Include  all  the  Requirements  of  Conscience? — Conscience 
Is  Primarily  Felt  Within — Never  Experienced  Except  in 
Connection  with  a  Conflict  between  Higher  and  Lower  De- 
sires— Even  the  Perversions  of  Conscience  Show  this — This 
Conception  of  Conscience  Follows  Logically  upon  Modem 
Theories  Concerning  the  Subject — The  Conception  can  be 
Reconciled  with  other  Functions  of  Conscience — Conscience 
as  Related  to  the  Choice  of  an  End  toward  which  Obligation 
Inclines — Many  Ethical  Theories  not  Sufficiently  Compre- 
hensive and  Fundamental — Mental  Control  as  an  Agency 
in  the  Stimulating  of  Mental  Activity — In  the  Developing 
of  Intelligence— In  the  Recognizing  of  Spiritual  Com- 
munality — Summary  of  the  View  of  Conscience  here  Pre- 
sented— The  Importance  of  Using  all  the  Possibilities  of 
Mind  to  Prevent,  in  Case  of  Conflict  with  Bodily  Influences, 
its  Being  Outweighed  by  them — Difference  between  the 
Conception  of  Conscience  Presented  in  these  Pages  and 
other  Somewhat  Similar  Conceptions. 


CHAPTER  X 

Desires  of  thi  Mind  Should  not  Suppress,  but 
Subordinate,  Desires  of  the  Body  . 

.The  Difficulty  of  Understanding  or  Applying  the  Principles  Un- 
folded in  the  Preceding  Chapters — Two  Possible  Methods  of 
Doing  this — The  Method  of  Suppressing  Physical  Desires, 


PAGB 


V  ^  • 


III 


123 


« 


Of  Asceticism — Asceticism  Wrong  in  Theory — Gratifying 
Physical  Desire  is  Right — Asceticism  Detrimental  in  Prac- 
tice— Unnecessary  as  a  Preventive  of  Evil — Illustrations- 
Easy  Solutions  of  Moral  Problems  not  the  most  Satisfactory 
— Modem  Efforts  to  Create  Right  Opinions  on  this  Sub- 
ject— Bodily  Desire  should  be  Kept  Subordinate — Impor- 
tance of  Mental  Desire — But  not  to  be  Indulged  to  the 
Exclusion  of  Bodily  Desire — The  Greek  Conception  of 
Moderation — Neither  Bodily  nor  Mental  Desire  Expressive 
of  all  of  Nature's  Demands — When  these  Demands  are  not 
Fulfilled,  any  Desire  may  Become  Overreaching — Over- 
reaching Desires  Tend  to  Irrationality  and  Selfishness — 
Even  though  Primarily  Mental — In  Beings  both  Bodily  and 
Mental,  the  Desire  of  the  One  Needs  to  be  Balanced  against 
that  of  the  Other — Balance  as  an  Agency  in  Keeping  Up- 
right— Complexity  of  the  Problem  of  Morality — The  Prob- 
lem Solved  by  Mental  Action  that  is  both  Immediate  and 
Deliberative — Adaptation  to  this  Purpose  of  the  Principle 
Underlying  what  is  Termed  Ethical  Harmony. 

CHAPTER  XI 

Analogies  Between  Harmony  in  Mstbetk^  a%t) 
IN  Ethics        .  ...... 

The  Term  Harmony  is  often  Applied  to  Moral  Conditions — 
Similarity  of  the  Influences  Tending  to  ^Esthetic  and  to 
Ethical  Harmony — Explanation  of  Arrangements  Producing 
^Esthetic  Harmony — Art- Composition,  Beauty,  and  Moral 
Character  all  Connected  with  Subordinating  the  Bodily  or 
Material  to  the  Mental  or  Rational — This  Produces,  First, 
an  Effect  of  Order — Other  Effects  thus  Produced — Other 
Analogies — Embodiment  of  Ideals — Harmony  is  Produced 
by  Arrangement,  not  Suppression — It  Affects  Sensation 
aside  from  the  Understanding — Can  be  Recognized  by 
Ordinary  Human  Intelligence — By  Natural  Inference — 
Studying  the  Subject  Increases  Ability  to  Apply  it — Its 
Principles  AppHcable  to  Courses  of  Action  as  well  as  to 
Specific  Acts — Effects  of  Ethical  Harmony  between  Desires, 
as  of  Esthetic  Harmony  between  Methods,  Produced  by 
Influences  Essentially  Non-selfish — The  Results  of  Ethical 
Harmony  Conform  to  every  Requirement  of  Sociology  and 
Religion  as  well  as  of  Rationality. 


141 


